What is Loneliness Awareness Week?
Loneliness Awareness Week was launched in 2017 by the UK’s leading loneliness charity, Marmalade Trust which offers support for all ages and the only charity in the world specifically dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness.
Why is it important?
There is still a lot of misconception and stigma that surrounds the topic of loneliness.
Marmalade Trust says…“Ask anyone to picture a lonely person and most will imagine an older person living on their own. As such, we often rebuke and dismiss feelings of loneliness because ‘that doesn’t apply to me’.”
By getting to know that loneliness is a normal human emotion and can affect anyone, we can start to understand and accept it, and if we recognise it in ourselves we might be better equipped to deal with it, or, notice it in others.
In fact, this year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week (May 2022) from the Mental Health Foundation was loneliness. You can read more about this on our blog here !
6 things you should know about loneliness…
How can I make a difference?
We know that knowledge is power! The more we share and learn, the more we understand…makes sense right?
Using positive language around loneliness to remove the stigma and misconceptions is a powerful way to make a difference.
Watch our short video on how to talk about loneliness…
What about loneliness at work?
Last year, 60% of people in the UK reported feeling lonely at work. The average person spends more time at work than on any other daily activity and whilst most jobs and work environments increase the opportunity for connection with others, people can still feel lonely.
As Covid-19 has brought many of our working lives into the virtual world, the question of how to keep mentally healthy, resilient and retain positive connections is a key topic.
For Mental Health Awareness Week we hosted a free webinar on this topic, looking at how to recognise loneliness at work and 5 proven strategies to improve workplace loneliness. If you didn’t manage to join us for the webinar you can now watch this here!
Want to learn more about wellbeing and mental health at work?
Are you thinking about Mental Health training at your place of work? We have dedicated Mental Health Training Specialists to consult with you and your organisation on strategy, implementing mental health training, including mental health first aid and all wellbeing-related policies.
0 Comments